Jonathan Rea tops the timings on his new-for-2021 Kawasaki machine as testing comes to an end in Jerez.
The two-day test for MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship machines at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto came to a close with reigning champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) topping the timesheets as he got to ride his new Kawasaki ZX-10RR for the first time after it was revealed at the start of the day.
With around 15 minutes left in the session, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) achieved his quickest lap time of the day on the 2021 bike, which has a new front fairing aimed at improving front stability and aerodynamics. Alex Lowes, Rea’s colleague, also got to ride the new bike for the first time and finished third overall for the day, around three tenths slower than his teammate; Rea and Lowes completed 72 and 82 laps, respectively, during the day. Rea’s timing of 1’38.324s was only a tenth of a second slower than the all-time WorldSBK record achieved in 2019.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) had dominated the day until Rea’s late time propelled him to the front, with the Turkish star trying both the 2020 and 2021 Yamaha YZF R1 motorcycles. Yamaha continued to work on turning and stopping in slow-speed corners, with Razgatlioglu testing new brake pads on the 2020 bike in the afternoon. Andrea Locatelli, his new teammate, has steadily improved as he learns the bike after a year of domination in WorldSSP in 2020.
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) of the United States was testing both the 2020 and 2021 machines today, setting his quickest time on the new bike to finish fourth on day two. After nearly having a highside crash at Turn 12 and wanting extra braking from the 2021 bike, it was an interesting day for the American. Following a great season in Japan, Kohta Nozane, who has joined GRT Yamaha for the 2021 season, finished ninth as he continued to learn the track, bike, and tyres.
Despite dealing with strange vibrations earlier in the day, Leon Haslam (Team HRC) was the leading Honda rider on day two. The British rider set a lap time of 1’39.852s to finish fifth among WorldSBK competitors, with Bautista in eighth after his program ended sooner than Haslam’s; Bautista was aiming for greater turning and rear traction from his Honda CBR1000RR-R.
Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) had an up-and-down day as he tried to figure out the best setup for his machine; the bike felt worse in the afternoon than it had in the morning, but it started to feel better as the afternoon progressed. On day two, Spanish rider Isaac Viales (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) continued his WorldSBK induction with the tenth best time, while Belgian Loris Cresson (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) rounded out the field as he continued to learn more about WorldSBK machinery after making his debut only a month ago; Cresson putting in more laps than anyone else on day two.
The results of day two of testing at Jerez:
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’38.324s
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) +0.515s
3. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.562s
4. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) +0.847s
5. Leon Haslam (Team HRC) +1.527s
6. Andrea Locatelli (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) +1.553s
7. Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +1.870s
8. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) +1.907s
9. Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) +2.345s
10. Isaac Viñales (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) +2.568s
11. Loris Cresson (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) +4.862s
The uniforms of MOTOGP racing drivers are currently available at the following websites for a reasonable price:
